#flattenthecurve Episode 13

WFH Day 10 of y

I've decided to give the date counter a bit of a shake up and changed the 'x' to a 'y'. Not sure how I feel about that yet, I'll have a little think on it.


Number Facts

We were going to do a bit of revision in the maths lesson today, focusing on the recall of number facts. Numbers with a real world application though, not just from an academic/theoretical perspective: I was going to test the kids on TV channels.

We were going to do it in a gameshow stylee to liven things up a bit and in my ficticious lesson the kids would have nailed it. It would have gone a little along the lines of:

Me: Henry, on Sky TV what channel is BBC1 ...
Henry: easy, one zero ...
Me: wait for the full question Henry, what channel is BBC1 HD?
Henry: HD, that's sneaky! But it's one, one, five!
Me: correct!

Me: And Eva, same TV platform, CBBC?
Eva: is it six, one, three?
Me: are you asking me or telling me?
Eva: erm ... telling you ...
Me: correct!

Me: ok, next round
Henry: can I have a P please dad?
Me: wrong gameshow Henry, now sit down
Henry: but dad, I really need to go!

I bet Bob Holness, Jeremy Paxman and Magnus Magnusson never had to put up with contestants interrupting recording of their made-up gameshows for unscheduled toilet breaks. If they had made-up gameshows, of course.

My plan was foiled however when the wife stepped in and took the maths lesson this morning while I was working. What a waste of another completely impractical lesson plan. I say 'plan', I of course mean vague idea.


Storytelling

As maths had been taken for the day, I was thrust into the world of literature and language and had to conduct my first English lesson during the tricky post lunch/early afternoon slot.

I also wanted a bit of peace and quiet, and the kids are at their quietest while watching TV, so how could I combine TV watching with some education?

The task was arrived at during lunch, we'd watch one episode of a TV programme, of the kids choice, and then write a story based on the same characters they had just watched.

The programme they chose was Malory Towers, based on the Enid Blyton books of the same name, about a boarding school for girls. It's like a really poor man's version of Harry Potter, but with lots of posh girls and no magic.

Eva wrote about a ghost who tricked some girls into thinking that everybody had disappeared, when really they were outside enjoying sports day.

Henry wrote about a girl confused that all her friends and teachers were speaking different languages. The confusion woke her up, it was just a dream. But then the twist ... the first person who spoke to her after waking up really was speaking a foreign language.

Apparently my learning outcomes weren't strong and the stories written weren't long enough, but I think the stories they wrote showed great imagination. We didn't talk about verbs, adjectives, nouns or fronted adverbials, which is good because grammar really isn't my strong point, and the kids both had a sense of achievement.

And I only had to bollock Henry for being an arse once.


BigFuss

Eva is so dramatic. She gets it from her Grandma.

If Eva was reading this she would jump up, stamp her feet, swing her arms about and loudly declare "I am not dramatic" before flouncing off slamming doors wailing and shouting. She's only 7, I can't wait for the teenage years.

One of her nicknames (from me, I love a good nickname) is BigFuss. Because, if you haven't already guessed, she likes to make a big fuss. About everything.

When I told her this nickname for the first time she loudly declared "I do not make a big fuss" before storming off slamming doors wailing and shouting.

So when she came downstairs at about 9pm this evening, and complained about having no night light we initially assumed she was making a big fuss. She wasn't, she was really sad.

"I've been thinking about Ishi" she said (Ishi was our previous cat) "and how she died, and I don't want that to happen to you two." And then she burst into tears. Proper tears, not those fake dramatic tears she usually specialises in.

She had lots of cuddles with her mam, lots of cuddles with her dad, and lots of chats with both of us, and eventually went off to bed again with a spare night light we nicked from the boys room.


WFH Day 11 of y, Early Morning Update

Eva came to see me at early o'clock. Well, she came to see both of us, but the wife was still snoring. I feared the worst, but she was full of smiles. "The light worked, Dad - I fell asleep thinking about unicorns not .... not ... not, you know ... " and tapped me on the chest.

Bless her, she's a cutie. Annoying at times, loud and bolshy most of the time, but definitely a cutie.